The Far Country

It seems fitting to be writing this post as I spend the afternoon at Dulles Airport in D.C. with a six hour layover before heading off to Zurich. Lately, the scriptural motif of "home" has really captured my heart. I have enjoyed exploring the motif a bit in scripture, but even more so in some of the books and music I've been listening to.

The motif of "home" is constantly seen in scripture. We see it from Genesis 2 when Adam and Eve make their home in Eden, and are subsequently kicked out to "another country" and kept from returning. God's call to Abram is leave his country to seek out a specific land that has been set aside for him (Gen. 12:1-3, 15:7-21, 17:8). Then, much of the remainder of the Old Testament is spent describing the nation of Israel's perpetual attempt to make their "home" in the promised land. There is an exile to another far country (Babylon) and the subsequent hope of return (Jer. 30:3, Ez. 36: 22-28, esp. 28, Zeph. 3:14-20) .

In the New Testament the idea of "home" manifests itself in several ways. We see the people still concerned about Jerusalem and Israel as the promised land (Jn. 4:20), and the disciples even interpret Jesus messianic significance to be rooted in the liberation of the Jewish people and the restoration of the promised land to the control of Israel (Mk. 10:35-45). However, the new covenant's fulfillment of the motif of home is unexpected. It is not geographic; it is spiritual. It is not ethnic; it is based on faith. The most notable continuity between the old covenant and new covenant understandings of the home motif is found in the immanuel principle (God with us)--that is, in the reality that "home" is ultimately wherever God chooses to dwell (Jn. 14:23-31). And so, in light of the cross, and the new covenant, and Jesus, home is wherever Jesus is. It is a spiritual reality, more than a physical location. In one sense, the home motif is ultimately and finally fulfilled in heaven--the perpetual dwelling place of God where we can and will see him face to face. In another sense, we can experience the reality of "home" even as we walk this earth; we experience it as we we dwell with God by faith, experiencing his love. In this sense we experience the dwelling place of God within us through the Holy Spirit. In this we get a foretaste of what the fulfilment of our longing for our true home will be like. Another implication is that the Scriptures are almost like a letter from home, from God to us, as we sojourn in this far country, longing to return home.

The album "The Far Country" by Andrew Peterson is probably one of my favorite of all time. His lyricism is top notch and laden with allusion to Tolkien, Lewis and Scripture. He explores the idea that we are in "a far country" as we await the fulfilment of our adoption as sons of God (Rom. 8:23) specifically as it relates to the issue of death.

The song, "This is Home" by Switchfoot, released with the Soundtrack for the film "Prince Caspian" also reflects on the spiritual signifance of our yearning and longing for home.

And finally, in his book "The Prodigal God", Tim Keller devotes a chapter to the motif of home and does an excellent job describing both how our homesickness is met in Jesus and how we experience the foretaste of "home" in this life as we know his love.

I could write a paper on this subject, because I love the way it shows up all over the place in Scripture and seems to have an instrinsic attraction to our hearts (or at least mine). Maybe I'll post more reflections on this in the future. For now it is enough for me to reflect on the fact that "this is a far country" and is not my home, even as I travel to a far country to meet Christy. I long for home, and that longing will not be disappointed, for "what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that wen he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn. 3:2).